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Mason County 2020 Grant Awards Make a Big Impact

The Community Foundation for Mason County is pleased to announce that grant awards for 2020 totaled $1,246,772! This includes $135,708 through the Community Foundation’s competitive grant process, as well as $1,111,064 granted from donor-advised, scholarship, community project and organization endowment funds. Grants out of Community Foundation funds provided support to a wide variety of nonprofit programs, pandemic relief efforts, scholarships and community projects in 2020. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, here are just a few of the good things happening in Mason County:

  • Splash pad project
  • myStrength web-based mental health program
  • Downtown pop-up parks
  • Recovery housing
  • Historic lighthouse repairs
  • Water quality education program
  • Backpack food
  • Neighborhood revitalization
  • Animal therapy programs
  • Foldscopes for science classes

“The COVID-19 pandemic has been a tremendous challenge to our community in so many ways,” said Lynda Matson, Community Foundation for Mason County’s board chairman. “However, it has been truly remarkable to see the outpouring of compassion and generosity offered by so many. I feel incredibly grateful to be part of such a forward-thinking community that unites together in order to support one another.”

In order to support area nonprofit organizations in learning how to be strategic in writing a strong grant application using the Community Foundation’s new online system, Submittable, the Community Foundation hosted a Grantseekers Workshop on January 12 and will continue to provide learning opportunities in the future. Grant awards from the spring 2021 grant round will be announced in the coming weeks.

Priority areas for funding are the arts, community development and revitalization, education, environment, health and human services, meeting needs of children 0-5, and emerging community needs.